LIGHTOWLER, Robert William
| Service Number: | VX26082 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 26 June 1940 |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 2nd/6th Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Stockton-on-Tees, Durham, England, 5 October 1900 |
| Home Town: | Malvern, Stonnington, Victoria |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Brickworks Labourer |
| Died: | Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 8 May 1969, aged 68 years, cause of death not yet discovered |
| Cemetery: |
Springvale Botanical Cemetery, Melbourne |
| Memorials: |
World War 2 Service
| 26 Jun 1940: | Enlisted Australian Military Forces (WW2) , Private, VX26082, 2nd/6th Infantry Battalion | |
|---|---|---|
| 9 Apr 1941: | Embarked Australian Military Forces (WW2) , Private, VX26082, 2nd/6th Infantry Battalion | |
| 9 Aug 1942: | Embarked Australian Military Forces (WW2) , Private, VX26082, 2nd/6th Infantry Battalion | |
| 20 Oct 1945: | Discharged Australian Military Forces (WW2) , Private, VX26082, 2nd/6th Infantry Battalion |
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Add my storyBiography contributed by Chris Buckley
Private Robert William Lightowler (Service No:VX26082) enlisted in the AIF on 27 June 1940, and served with 2/6th Infantry Battalion in the Middle East (8 April 1941 - 9 August 1942). Private Lightowler was attached to 2/6th Infantry Battalion at Discharge on 20 October 1945. Both sons (Bob and Henry) also served in WWII.
Robert was born in Durham, England in 1899 (BDM UK), youngest of eight children of Richard Lightowler (b1858 in Yorkshire, England) and Ann Wood (b1857 in Yorkshire, England). Richard (a Farm Servant in Durham) and Ann (a Nursemaid in Durham) married in 1885 in Durham, where they settled and raised their family, and Richard worked as a Farmer and Labourer in the Gas Works. Four of their children emigrated to Australia - Richard Jnr to Melbourne in 1910, John to Melbourne in 1913, Robert to Melbourne in 1922, and Mary to Fremantle in 1924.
Robert was a Brickmaker in Durham, England in 1916 when he married Annie Evans (b1899 in Durham, England). Robert and Annie married in 1916 in Durham, where they lived for six years with their two sons and Robert worked as a Brickmaker. In 1922 the family immigrated, arriving in Melbourne on board the Berrima. They settled in Melbourne, where they raised their family and Robert was a Brickworks Labourer until his death in 1969 at Heidelberg Repatriation Hospital. Annie died in 1982.
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